A Year at Saturn
Explanation:
Arriving
at Saturn in July of 2004, the
Cassini spacecraft
has now spent a year and a half exploring the
magnificent rings and moons of the distant gas giant.
The year 2005 began with Cassini's
Huygens probe landing
on Saturn's large moon Titan.
Cassini's continuing series of close flybys
also revealed
details and discoveries
across the surface of the smog shrouded moon.
In fact, with a
ringside
seat throughout 2005, Cassini's cameras
have made spectacular pictures of Titan along with
Saturn's
other moons and rings
almost
common place.
But often, Saturn itself provided the most dramatic backdrop.
In this
view, Saturn's moon Dione lies in front of edge-on
rings and the gas giant's cloud tops draped with broad
ring shadows.
Dione is 1,118 kilometers across
and lies about 300,000 kilometers from the ring's edge.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
